Never Neverland
by jackthepumpkin777
Summary: She held the key to the throne of Neverland. Now to return home all she had to do was escape the clutches of blood-thirsty pirates and somehow remain immune to the alluring flying boy who's keeping her alive.
1. Lost Childhood

**Never Neverland**

She held the key to the throne of Neverland. Now to return home all she had to do was escape the clutches of blood-thirsty pirates and somehow remain immune to the alluring flying boy who's keeping her alive.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Neverland, nor do I own Peter Pan.**

**Chapter 1**

"You'll never believe who just died," the shrill voice echoed down the hallway and reached Amu's ears in no time.

She sat tucked away in a deep armchair in her dad's office, momentarily pausing her reading to impatiently listen to her little sister's latest gossip story. Usually death wasn't a topic someone so casually brought up. But this was Ami she was dealing with and nothing seemed to be too inappropriate for her to boldly proclaim.

Ami's auburn-haired self appeared in the office doorway with wide, eager eyes that instantly met her sister's golden orbs.

"Guess who died," she urged impatiently.

Amu hardly had enough time to even arch an eyebrow before her little sister went off again. Apparently it was their elder neighbour who had passed away just the other day. His family was going through his belongings at this instant. Ami was already keen on finding out if she was in his will at all.

At hearing this, Amu placed her book down and had to interject.

"Washing his truck one time three years ago isn't all that significant."

"Actually, it was two years ago."

Sending her sister a look of disbelief, Amu blew her bangs out of her eyes and reopened her book, "Yeah, and I brought him his paper once. Doesn't mean I'm in his will to inherit his life savings."

The younger of the two sisters went silent and sent a glare in Amu's direction, "You're a dirt bag."

Spinning on her heel with a huff and a crossing of her arms, the auburn-haired teenager shimmied her way back down the hallway to leave Amu in temporary peace once again.

Her gaze flickered up from her book and lingered on the empty doorway. How death could be treated so casually, she didn't understand. The thought made Amu's stomach feel heavy as her chest tightened. Nothing good ever came out of growing up. Growing up meant more responsibilities, more hardships, and death.

Being nearly seventeen and just one day away from entering her last year of high school, Amu had no reason to greet the future with welcoming arms. She loathed it and dreaded its arrival. Which is why she was spending her last day of summer vacation locked up inside, reading a fairytale novel that brought her back to her youth. Back to the days where she would fall asleep on the couch and wake up in her bed. Back to the tingling excitement of Saturday morning cartoons instead of Tuesday night soap operas or Friday night partying.

Amu sighed longingly and shut her book. Her attention caught briefly on the warm blanket of sunlight that streamed through the window to her right and lit up the cozy room. She would live in her dad's office if she could. He probably wouldn't mind, either, as he never even used it, really. Its sole purpose was to provide an escape for anyone longing for a good read, where they could choose from whichever genre of novel they longed for. The walls lined with bookshelves provided plenty of variety for escapism. With the plush carpets and deep-colored wallpaper, it was a welcoming atmosphere with a homey feel to it, making it Amu's favourite room in the house.

Placing her book on the side table next to her, the pink-haired teen pulled herself to her feet and wandered out of the office while dragging her feet across the hallway's cold hardwood. She made it to the living room before collapsing again, too depressed to do anything exciting on her last day of summer break.

She lay motionless on the couch for quite some time while her dad sat in an armchair across the room.

Tsumugu glanced over the top of his paper to steal a look at his daughter. He frowned. One of his girls was gallivanting throughout the house speaking of an old man's death and the other was resembling a dead old man.

Watching in silence for a moment longer, Tsumugu flipped the page and turned his attention back to the words in front of him.

"My little sparrow is looking glum today," he commented with a pout, "why is that?"

There were too many reasons, Amu noted to herself. Summer was over, school was tomorrow, senior year started tomorrow, her childhood was officially beginning to end…so many things were affecting her mood.

Shifting her head so she was looking at her dad, she offered a shrug in response, "Just tired."

Tsumugu nodded once, seemingly content with this response and completely naïve as to believe her answer to be the truth.

"Oh, mama was looking for you," he informed after a moment of silence passed, "said she had a job for you. I believe she's outside."

Inhaling deeply through her nostrils, Amu closed her eyes momentarily.

"Perfect," she groaned. She reluctantly rolled herself off the couch and shimmied out the front door in search of Midori. Passing Ami along the way, the sisters shared a scoffing look before Amu resumed her walk, spotting Midori across the street at the house of the man who just died. Amu scolded herself for not even knowing his name.

"…Mama?" Amu began while taking slow steps onto the lawn, "Papa said you needed me."

Midori glanced up from the box she was going through and paused, taking time to stand up straight and crack her back. She brushed a few strands of coffee-coloured hair out of her eyes before readjusting her glasses. Placing her hands on her hips, she nodded slowly while scanning the yard, trying to remember just what it was she needed help with.

Amu also looked around the yard in hopes of finding something. Cardboard boxes were scattered randomly throughout the lawn, nearly hidden in the over-grown strands of cool grass.

As the two Hinamoris stood in a confused silence, a young woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun hobbled out of the house with a pile of boxes in her arms.

"Oh, are you one of Midori's daughters?" She asked politely while staggering over to the two.

Amu nodded slowly before taking the boxes out of her arms to lighten her load.

"I'm Miss Kinomoto," the lady introduced politely after shaking Amu's hand, "this was my dad's place."

"Amu-chan, can you help us clean out the attic?" Midori asked from behind the pinkette.

Seeing as how she was kind of put on the spot here, Amu shrugged, "Sure, what is there to do?"

Miss Kinomoto went on about how there was just a few more boxes left in the attic that needed to be brought down to the yard so they could be sorted through. As a bonus, she even promised that Amu could keep whatever she found and liked, just as long as it wasn't an important family heirloom or anything of the sort.

As generous as Miss Kinomoto's offer was, Amu would rather be sleeping. She didn't mention this fact, though, as she found herself climbing the steep staircase into the attic of the old house in a mere few minutes after agreeing to help. Clearly Miss Kinomoto just wanted to clean out the house and be done with the job.

Truth be told, Amu would rather peel her eyelids off with a can opener. The attic resembled a creepy death trap. She wouldn't be surprised if it housed mountain lions and a wild ape that strangely resembled her long lost uncle.

Amu gazed around the nearly empty attic. The wood floorboards were coated in a thick layer of dust that was sprinkled across the few boxes left in the small room. Cobwebs stretched across the beams on the short ceiling, supplying another reason no one wanted to venture up to this dreaded room.

Screeching when a spider skidded across the floor in front of her, Amu snatched the boxes to her right and scrambled back down the ladder. She nearly tripped over herself upon reaching the front yard. She dropped the boxes onto the ground beside the other pile of boxes, watching a puff of dust bounce into the air upon the impact.

Midori coughed and waved a hand in front of her face to be rid of the dust particles that lingered near her nostrils.

"Thank you," she coughed again.

Amu pursed her lips and nodded curtly, not wanting to go back up that ladder anytime soon.

Midori seemed to notice this and pushed an already-opened box closer to her daughter. It had already been inspected and was spider-free with no creepy voodoo dolls of previous bosses old man Kinomoto had.

Lowering herself onto the cool grass, Amu tucked her legs underneath her as she started rummaging through the box.

"Whatever you think isn't worth keeping, just throw into that box," Miss Kinomoto nodded over her shoulder to the over-flowing box behind her, "everything else can just stay in the box if you feel it's worth keeping."

Nodding once to show she understood, Amu hesitantly dropped her hands into the box and started sorting through items. Now if she was a normal sixteen year old she'd be out partying right now with a bunch of people she only pretended to like. But she enjoyed this a whole lot more than getting completely wasted only to end up regretting it when morning strolled along.

It seemed like hours before she finally stumbled across something that actually caught her special attention. It was mixed in with a bunch of junk. She almost hadn't seen it.

Reaching into the box with interest lacing her amber-coloured eyes, Amu clutched onto the lock necklace and wiped it clean so it shimmered in the sunlight. The gold lock had a four-leaf clover design etched into it, diamonds filling in the leafs.

"I haven't seen that in ages," Miss Kinomoto commented with a smile. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and moved to stand behind Amu. "My grandma always said that it had magical powers. But, well, it was _grandma_, the same woman who claimed that every bird glared at her when she went to the food market."

She lost interest and went back to sorting through an over-sized box while Amu stared at the lock, even more fascinated than she had been five minutes prior. Magic powers? She didn't believe it one bit, but it was still an interesting idea. She was brought out of her thoughts by a sharp exhale from Miss Kinomoto.

The pinkette looked up expectantly.

"I'd say that's enough for tonight," Miss Kinomoto decided with a nod, smiling gratefully at Midori, "thank you for your help, Midori. Always a pleasure," she looked over at Amu and nodded to the necklace, "you can keep that if you want. Thanks for your help too, Amu-chan. Not many teenagers do anything productive these days."

Amu tried not to smile too wickedly, "Clearly you've met Ami."

Midori sent her a warning look but Miss Kinomoto just laughed. The Hinamori girls said their goodbyes before wandering back across the street.

Slinging her arm around her daughter's shoulders, Midori exhaled happily.

"I guess I should be a responsible mother and cook dinner," She decided as she brushed off her jeans with her free hand.

"Probably. Papa's most likely crying in a corner somewhere, entirely convinced you've forgotten about him," Amu uttered, only half kidding. Her dad tended to be quite the drama queen.

Midori frowned, "You're right." She then smiled and patted Amu's shoulder affectionately before hurrying into the house ahead of the pinkette.

Glancing behind her at the setting sun, Amu exhaled deeply, continuing to rub her finger against the necklace. Now that she was out of work to do, she decided to do something productive. And by productive, she meant returning to the office to read some more.

In an instant she wiggled into the familiar armchair. She smiled contentedly. Placing her book in her lap, Amu paused her reading to fasten the lock necklace around her neck. It was cold against her skin. Clearly it hadn't been worn in ages.

Opening her book, Amu let herself get lost in the words on the pages once again. Before she could finish reading one page, an uneasy twisting of her mind caused a wave of dizziness to wash over her. The words on the paper swirled under her gaze and jumped off the page. The walls surrounding her turned black and then grey as they twisted restlessly. Unable to focus her eyesight, Amu's weak fingers dropped her book before she tumbled into darkness.


	2. Waking Up

**Chapter 2: Waking Up**

Blackness swirled into a mixture of white and grey that swivelled and squirmed. Breaking through the neutrality was a small spark of gold that twinkled softly before dropping down and disappearing. Followed shortly after was another one. Soon enough there were fireworks of gold shimmering across Amu's line of vision.

A bubble of white exploded and dissolved all traces of any other color, leaving a thick coat of black to splash across whatever Amu was looking at.

There was silence surrounding her and a refreshing breeze that trickled over her skin.

Her ears felt clogged. Surely there must have been some noise wherever she was. It wouldn't come across as a shock if the explosion of colors had made her go deaf. Perhaps she went blind as well.

A wave of nausea pounded against Amu's head just when she was beginning to think she was dead. Her eyelids were too heavy to open. She felt the cold ground swirling beneath her cheek as she lay motionless. The dissolving color behind her eyelids seemed to swirl before bubbling right before her.

Shifting her tongue around her parched mouth, she attempted to open her eyes again.

The brightness of the indigo sky made her squint and shrink back into the forest floor. The leafs and twigs underneath her crunched as she dropped her head back onto them.

The noise made her eyes open again as she cautiously scanned her surroundings. The abundance of trees was so thick, it was almost impossible to see through them. Rays of sunlight beamed in through the small slits in the branches higher up. Specks of dust could be seen floating in the sunrays, dancing around each other before they vanished into the shadows once again.

Propping herself up on her elbows, Amu slowly pushed herself off the ground and stared at the trees that towered over her. A soft bird call echoed throughout the forest as a breeze ruffled the leafs surrounding her. Amu jumped at the noise and squeezed her eyes shut. She must have been dreaming. Why else would she be in a forest? Cities in Japan weren't ones that came with forests such as the one she sat in now.

When she opened her eyes and saw that she hadn't moved locations, she laid back down into the pile of leafs and heaved a sigh. How long did it usually take her to wake up from a nap; two hours, maybe three?

Crossing her arms stubbornly, Amu let her eyes shut. She could wait that long. She wasn't about to go wander around an unfamiliar woodland without some sort of map. Even a compass would be handy. But, since she had neither of those items, she lay in silence.

Until she felt the resonance of drums rumble through the ground beneath her.

She shot up in alarm. Straightening her posture to get a better look around her, Amu frowned, recognizing the sound as a tribal song of some sort.

Slowly rising to her feet, Amu found she nearly fell back down. Her legs felt so weak - almost as if she hadn't used them in days. Bouncing a couple times to get her knees back into gear, the pinkette slowly stepped onto the dirt pathway a few feet in front of her to see if she could find the source of noise.

A cold shiver splashed down her spine when she realized something - maybe she didn't want to find out who was making that music. The forest held an ominous feel to it as she stood alone in the middle of the abandoned pathway, giving her the impression that no one was to be trusted.

Another gust of wind tore through the trees and whipped Amu's hair around her face.

The beat of the drums seemed to grow louder and at a faster pace.

Amu found herself unable to move her feet. Soon enough, wild, chanting voices joined in with the drums. She knew if she didn't move soon, she'd meet these inhabitants whether they liked her company or not.

Her heart raced and her blood pumped loudly. Her mouth became drier by the second as she completely froze in place.

A hand wrapped around her wrist. Her heart nearly jumped out of her ribcage at the electrifying contact as she was pulled into a nearby overgrowth of branches and bushes.

She started to kick, opening her mouth to scream when the hand removed itself from her wrist and covered her mouth. She felt the presence of another human behind her, her back pressed to their chest. From what she could tell, it was a boy that held her captive.

Breathing quickly, Amu felt her palms beginning to sweat as she fought off the urge to cry.

She could feel the boy shift against her, his body heat spreading to her cold arms.

"Shh..." he whispered in her ear.

She immediately obeyed him. His hand was removed from her mouth shortly after.

The tribal calls were growing closer. Amu silently prayed she and the mystery boy were fully hidden in the trees to not be seen by the Indian-like group.

An unfamiliar noise of what sounded like string being stretched made Amu jump but she didn't dare turn around or make a noise. Before she knew it, an arrow appeared right beside her, along with a muscular forearm that held the arrow poised in a bow. He didn't release it, just simply waited.

Amu slowly inched to the side so that the arrow wasn't just inches away from her cheek. It was pointed in front of them, towards the path.

A boy sporting face paint and an ornate hat decorated with feathers came into view on the pathway. He was leading the Indian tribe that carried drums with them as they howled proudly on their way through the forest.

As soon as the leader appeared, Amu heard the arrow whiz by her ear.

She watched in a stunned shock as the arrow hurdled itself into the boy's hat, sending it shooting against a nearby tree.

The boy threw his hands up to touch his light purple hair, panicking when he realized his hat was gone.

Amu stood, confused. If she had an arrow shot at her, she'd be more worried about how she almost lost her life, not her hat.

In a split second, the chanting group was bombarded by three boys who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The auburn-haired teenager who emerged from some bushes lunged for the hat, ripped it off the tree, and held the arrow in his other hand. Flashing his brilliant grin, he waved the hat proudly in the air above him. Apparently it was a prize that needed to be won in order for their little game to end.

"Lost Boys win again!" He bellowed.

The remaining two boys who jumped out of the trees threw their hands up and cheered along with him while the group dressed as Indians snarled and protested angrily.

Amu jumped when the boy behind her moved. She had forgotten she wasn't hiding alone. He brushed past her and walked into the open to join his friends. In all honesty, she was expecting him to be some crooked-nosed, squinty eyed creep with rotten teeth. This guy was the opposite. His deep sapphire hair stood up in odd places, the length was just past his ears. Wearing all black, he stood out from the other boys, who at least had a little bit of color to their clothing.

He wasn't cheering with the boys who surrounded and congratulated him, but there was a small smirk on his face. Clearly he wasn't one to care too much about appraisal.

"We'll get you next time, Ikuto," the Indian-tribe leader warned dangerously. "No peasant gets away with beating the king at his own game."

This is when the auburn-haired boy jumped in, slinging his arm around the shoulder of the 'king'.

"Kiseki, you say that every time."

He made sure to ruffle Kiseki's hair before the group of Indians stomped back down the path, no longer playing their instruments proudly.

Amu could have sworn Indians were supposed to have dark skin, but apparently it was different here. Speaking of which… She glanced around the bushes. She still hadn't figured out where she was.

A boy with long, purple hair took Ikuto's bow from him and high-fived the auburn-haired boy. "I do say that we did pretty well for today's game. Didn't take nearly as long as usual."

Ikuto finally spoke, his deep voice in a lazy drawl, "what happened to the plan to have you and Kukai distract the kiddy king?"

The two boys under Ikuto's gaze stared down at the ground.

The auburn-haired boy quickly looked up and pointed an accusing finger at a boy with green hair and glasses who stood off to the side, quietly noting everything down in a little book.

"Kairi's the one who gave us the wrong coordinates!"

"Don't blame your errors on me, Kukai. You and Nagihiko knew perfectly well what the plan was. Now if you didn't stop to pick all those berries…"

"Hey, hey, don't bring the berries into this. Those were amazing."

"Probably poisonous, too," Kairi uttered, unimpressed.

As the two went off on their little spiel, Ikuto seemed to recall Amu's presence and got a mischievous glint in his dark eyes.

"While you were getting your flowers-"

"Berries."

"Whatever. I found a stray kitten," Ikuto announced.

It took a moment for it to register in Amu's mind that Ikuto was talking about her. By the time she moved her foot to start running, the branches were pushed aside and her hiding spot was revealed to four curious sets of eyes.


	3. Neverwood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! nor do I own Peter Pan.**

**Chapter 3: Neverwood**

There was too much green suffocating the earth. Deep olive grass clung to the earth that rested underneath a ceiling of emerald leafs dripping from branches of trees blanketed with wet, green moss. The shrubbery was so thick that only a small bit of sunlight could seep in to light up and warm the forest.  
Way, way too much green.

Amu leapt over a fallen tree and nearly tripped over herself as she ran in between trees and through streams. Gasping for breath, her chest rose and fell quickly. She paused to lean against a nearby tree, plastering her back to the trunk. Her heart hammered in her ears and her fingers tingled as they unconsciously picked at the pieces of bark behind her.

Glancing around to the other side of the trunk, Amu breathed out deeply as she let her eyes close. She had taken off running as soon as she realized that her hiding spot had been revealed to the four strange boys. For all she knew they could have taken her captive. That blue-haired one was suspicious enough. The rest were just plain crazy. The last thing Amu wanted was to be kidnapped by four strangers in a strange world she had never been to before.

As her breathing became more regular, Amu ran her fingers through her hair and tugged at it in agitation.

"I'm going to die from all this green. I bet this place is just swarming with mountain lions and sabre-toothed tigers!" She whined to herself, nervously fiddling with her lock necklace. She glanced uneasily over her shoulder to make sure no beasts were lingering behind her. "Where am I?"

Soft chirps of birds and rushing water answered her.

A soft thud reached Amu's ears as she moved to sit down. Her eyes widened as a pink egg rolled to a stop just beside her foot. A moment passed as she stared at the egg laced with heart designs. Quickly looking from the egg then to the space in between her legs, her jaw dropped as her eyes bulged. She stumbled away from the egg and tripped over herself, crashing through a bush and falling to the dirt in a heap of cries.

Coughing, the pinkette pushed herself up to stare at the egg in wonder. She did _not_ just give birth to a pink, heart-decorated Easter egg, did she? Amu shook her head to get rid of such absurd thoughts. This was definitely a unique welcoming gift. 'Welcome to our land, here's the ability to crap an egg at random!'

Amu sat up a little straighter once the egg started cracking on its own, her eye twitching as she stared at it suspiciously. With a small 'pop' the egg burst open and out flew a tiny human-like creature who stared back at her with wide, pink eyes and hair that resembled her own.

A grin broke out on its little face.

"Amu-chan!"

Amu cried out at the top of her lungs and scrambled to her feet, not expecting the thing to be able to speak.

The fairy-like thing flailed its arms in an attempt to show she meant no harm. "Amu-chan, Amu-chan! It's okay, I won't hurt you!"

Amu pried open one of her squeezed-shut eyes and peered around the shield she created with her arms. The thing was clad in all pink, from her shoes to the pompoms in her hands, with her pink sun visor proudly bearing a large, red heart. It paused in the air and just seemed to realize that Amu had no idea what it was.

"I'm Ran, your guardian character!"

Amu was still confused, and didn't bother hiding the fact, either. "You ran?"

"No, my name is Ran."

"I didn't know names were capable of running," Amu murmured, more to herself, as she slowly let her arms down so they no longer protected her face. Though she shouldn't have been surprised, as this place had tiny humans that flew so it was probably normal to have names capable of running away.

Ran paused to smack her forehead, "My name is Ran. I am called Ran." She stared at Amu until she understood.

Despite her thumping heart and curious fascination with this ordeal, Amu feigned indifference and rolled her eyes while brushing off her jeans.

"Well, Ran, I'm a little busy right now." She replied apathetically. She mentally kicked herself for not asking the questions that burned on her tongue.

Pushing aside thin branches of the bushes that blocked her line of vision, Amu began to resume her tread through the forest. She was wasting precious time required for escaping.

Ran's voice stopped her from getting too far.

"So it's true…you really aren't being your true self."

Amu's eyes widened briefly. Slowly turning around, her curiosity grew. "What you talking about?" She asked quietly.

Ran flew over to her, frowning. "Just now you wanted to ask me questions and go into full panic mode because you don't know where you are and because of that, you're scared. But to stay true to the image you've built for yourself over the years, you're pretending like everything is fine!"

No words were capable of forming on Amu's numb tongue as she stood in a wide-eyed silence in the middle of a bush. She stared dumbfounded. This flying thing knew too much for her own good. Everyone else she had met had fallen for the façade she had perfected over the years.

"How did-" she began, but Ran cut her off with an energetic flail of her pompoms.

"That's why I brought you here, Amu-chan!" she exclaimed happily. "I'm going to help you find your true self!"

There was silence between the two. Pompoms continued to bounce around happily while Amu's honey-coloured eyes sliced through the air. It took a moment for it to process, but once it did, something inside Amu snapped.

She reached out and grabbed the flying thing right out of the air, "You're responsible for taking me away from home and dumping me in a completely foreign place with strange boys who prance around like Indians?" She yelled, nearly chomping Ran's head off in the process.

Ran squirmed and wiggled to get out of Amu's death hold. "It's for your own good, Amu-chan! You're already showing more emotion than you have this whole year!" Ran declared happily, a slight waver in her voice from being yelled at.

Once realizing that Amu's grip wasn't loosening whatsoever, Ran sighed and tried a different approach.

"I'm a chara…we don't exist in your world so I had to bring you here for the time being. Time was running out and you're almost grown up so I had to act quickly. I exist only while you're still a kid."

Rubbing her temples, Amu exhaled sharply before glancing at the plants surrounding her. The plant life was suffocating. She was already sick of it.

"Where are we?"

"In the Neverwood…it's a forest!" Ran chirped, smiling widely.

Amu gave her an unimpressed glance. "Where is this forest located?"

"Oh, we're in Never Land!" The chara responded whilst floating about. "It's quite the magical place. From Mermaids' Lagoon to Crocodile Creek, everywhere you go there's an adventure! Just stay away from Pirate Cove… oh, the nasty people who poison Never Land live there. Pirates are the worst." Ran spoke with her cheery grin fading as she mentioned the pirates.

It took a moment for the dizzy spell to finally leave Amu alone. This was all too much to take in. It was impossible to believe that she had magically been teleported by a chara, who brought her to a place called Never Land, the home of pirates. Pirates only existed in fairy tales, not in every day life.

"I just want to be in a normal place again!" Amu groaned while pulling her hair. Although she wasn't too happy with her life back home, it was better than being uncomfortable with unfamiliar surroundings that loomed over her.

Amu was silent as Ran went on about how great Never Land was. She was warned to never be in the forest alone (like she was, currently) and not to go swimming at Mermaids' Lagoon at night.

"Oh!" Ran stopped her speech and halted in mid-air. "It isn't safe for us to be out here…"

Placing a hand on her hip, Amu arched an eyebrow. "You just noticed that?" She sent a wary glance over her shoulder.

Chuckling nervously, Ran readjusted her sun visor before clearing her throat. Searching her surroundings, she pointed in the direction Amu was originally headed, "That should take us to the Lost Boys!"

'Lost Boys…' it sounded so familiar.

Pushing her way through the forest, Amu jumped and shrieked every time Ran screamed bloody murder at the sight of a bug.

After getting Ran to tell her more about Never Land, the screams became less frequent, which Amu's ears were grateful for.

The pinkette's interest grew when Ran started speaking of the mermaids. Apparently they were friendly to few and when you weren't on their good side, it'd be best if you stayed as far away from their lagoon as possible. When the sun went down, everything in the water changed for the worst, even the inhabitants. It was a death trap for swimmers.

They reached a clearing in the trees where the sun was finally visible. Amu happily let her scratched skin soak in a bit of heat as she slowed to a stop in the clearing.

Ran slowed as well. Growing silent, she examined the area with suspicion crossing her face. She didn't recognize this part of the trail. The Lost Boys' hideout was full of trees without a single clearing for miles. They had been going the wrong way. Ran figured they had either passed the hideout (that was doubtful), they were headed towards the Indian Camp, or…

A screech from Amu confirmed Ran's suspicion as her blood turned ice cold. Whipping around, she found Amu in a pitfall in the ground.

"Amu-chan!"

"Wh-what is this thing?" Amu panicked.

A large, cloth material was thrown overtop of the pinkette as cheers and gruff laughter erupted from the trees.

They had reached Pirate Cove.

* * *

**Author's note: I'm so sorry it took me ages to update this. I'm going to start writing the next chapter now so that I can update a lot sooner. I don't know if I'll have Miki and Suu in this story, so stay tuned! Sorry I'm always leaving it at cliff hangers...heh... And if you have any requests as to what you would like to see happen in this story, feel free to let me know and I'll take it into consideration!**


	4. Pirate Cove

**Chapter 4: Pirate Cove**

If she had been told one week prior that she would soon find herself tied in a cloth bag, sitting on the deck of a pirate ship, she wouldn't have believed it. And yet here she was, nearly hyperventilating as she kicked against the material that trapped her. Lying on her side, only one leg was available to kick, but she did her best to break free, nonetheless.

While being tossed around after being captured, Amu was able to pick up on small parts of the conversation going on between the pirates that had hoisted her out of the hole. They had grunted something about catching a lost boy and using them as bait. Amu sincerely hoped they weren't referring to her. Did she really resemble a boy that much? She would forever be embarrassed if that was the case.

"I could have sworn I looked like a girl," she complained to herself as she continued to kick at the cloth surrounding her.

Ran didn't know what to think. "That's the only thing you say in your situation?"

"Well I'm going to die anyway, so why not have my own personal pity party while I'm still alive?" Amu uttered. "It's 'cause of my chest, isn't it?"

"Your…chest?" Ran repeated, thinking she may have heard wrong.

"Yeah, just look at it!" Amu attempted to flail her arms in the small, confined space she was in. "Oh, wait, you can't. Because it's not there! There's nothing to see!"

As she went on about all the things that could possibly make her look like a boy, Ran watched in an uncomfortable silence while trying to smile reassuringly. She never could have predicted having to console someone because their lack-of-chest was constantly in the back of their mind. Right now, Ran would rather be trying to figure out a way of escaping their little situation instead of having a therapy session on how Amu feels about her chest and why she feels that way.

After rolling onto her back to let both legs free, Amu sent another kick to the bag. As soon as her left foot was jolted off the ground, a searing pain shot up her leg, a fire burning inside her ankle at the slightest movement.

Stabbing her teeth into her bottom lip, she squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hands gingerly around her ankle while trying to fight off the urge to scream. If she didn't know better, she'd say her foot broke after falling into the pirate's trap in the forest. Tears quickly gathered behind her eyelids as she lay motionless with Ran looking on worriedly.

"Amu-chan! Are you okay?"

The pink-haired girl nodded once.

Once Amu had finally gone quiet again, swallowed up by a shadow of pain and self-pity, the surrounding noises of the ship's crew became more prominent. Someone was being lectured for not washing the beams in the correct direction while another crew member was stumbling around in a drunken frenzy, shouting unintelligible insults at his shoes.

"I know what a colon is!" The drunkard cried out, "It's the thing you put at the end of a sentence. You should know this, all-knowing Tsukasa. Guess you're not all-knowing after all!" He barked out laughter.

Someone chuckled softly. "A colon is part of the human's digestive system. You're thinking of a semicolon."

There was silence on the end of the drunkard. Followed by mumbles and grumbles, the drunk finally said, "You're all idiots. 'Digestive system'…hah!"

Their spiel was interrupted by the sound of a door being thrown open. Low footsteps shattered the silence.

Curious, Amu stuck her finger into a small hole in the bag, pulling at it so that the hole was stretched open enough to see what was going on. She sat in silence while holding her breath as her heart hammered. Ran also went quiet, floating in one spot instead of all over.

The crew scrambled to stand in proper formation, placing their hands up to their foreheads. "Captain!" They chorused together.

A man appeared in the doorway. His face was grubby, packs of dirt lodged in between each deep wrinkle on his forehead. His cold eyes cut through the air. His rough, frosty voice boomed out orders and sent his crew scurrying to their posts. He gave off a ruthless, dangerous aura that made Amu's throat grow dry. If this was the guy she had to face on her own, she'd rather join the crew and blend in with the ship. Maybe she'd even toss herself overboard.

A blond pirate rushed to the captain's side, helping the older man remove his heavy overcoat.

"Where is this lost boy?" The captain growled with a hint of a satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. His eyes shot around the ship, landing on Amu's spot. She cowered back even though there was no way he could see her. She could just hope that he wouldn't burn a hole through the bag with his evil eyes.

"Captain…may I ask why we needed to kidnap a lost boy?" A tall, lean man with dusty brown hair cautiously walked up to the captain after dropping some rope into a neat pile. His light purple eyes were the complete opposite of the captain's - this man's gaze was soft. It was surprising considering he was a pirate just like the rest of the mangy crew.

The captain glanced over at the younger man before letting his hand come down on his shoulder in a gruff pat.

"And this is why you're not captain, Tsukasa." He released Tsukasa's shoulder and wiped his hand off to be rid of the crew member's germs before he continued, lowering his voice so Amu had to strain to hear. "We already swiped the key from that boy, now we just need the lock. The problem is, no one knows where the lock went to. But if Ikuto had the key to begin with, it's only natural he'd know where to find the lock. Capturing one of his companions just might get him to speak."

Exhaling sharply, the captain started walking towards Amu. "I'd kill Ikuto myself if we could find him. He has no problem finding us, though." He didn't continue on the subject as he hobbled the rest of the way across the deck.

"Where did your dress go?" A new voice joined in.

The crew turned to look at the intruder, Amu's gaze also turning to the speaker.

Her eyes widened once finding him.

He lounged on one of the many ropes above the ship holding up the largest mast. Letting his legs dangle freely off the twenty foot drop, he seemed all too calm for Amu's liking. His deep blue hair was tousled from the breeze, but his eyes still held that mischievous glint they had earlier when he and his Lost Boys had held her captive.

The captain glared up at the boy.

"For the last time, it's a coat." He corrected after scowling.

"It's long enough to be a dress."

"Well, it isn't one."

"It compliments your eyes."

"Thank you. Now get down here and face me like a man."

"As I recall.." the boy began, standing up on the flimsy rope. He even pocketed his hands, Amu noted in disbelief. She'd be peeing if she was that high up.

"I'm a lost boy, not man." He finished wittily.

The captain wasn't impressed. He rubbed his tired eyes before rolling them, looking back up at his rival. "Ikuto, I'll shoot you." He took out his gun and cocked it to emphasize his point.

Too many times did the captain feel oh-so confident in something he had done, only to be made into a fool by a few words from Ikuto's mouth. This time, he had caught one of Ikuto's companions, and despite the younger boy's wise talk, he wouldn't get so easily out of this one.

Amu watched in amazement as Ikuto dropped from the mast, landing gracefully on his feet with his hands still in his pockets. The captain didn't seem as impressed as Amu was. It was apparent that they had a history together and Ikuto's ability to drop from a great feet was old news.

Though, the pinkette still felt the need to applaud for him and did so silently with Ran joining in.

Clearing his throat, the captain took a step closer to Ikuto, putting his gun back into its holder on his waist. It rested beside his sword.

"I've found something that belongs to you and unless you tell me where to get the Humpty lock, you won't be getting it back." His mouth turned upwards into an unpleasant, sadistic smile.

Remaining silent, Ikuto waited for the captain to continue. He calmly watched as the captain gestured for a few crew members to lift up the sack Amu was in and bring it over to him.

Amu tried not to fall on her face as she was hoisted hastily off the ground. After being carelessly placed in front of Ikuto, she felt unnaturally intimidated as she found herself gripping her injured ankle while sitting in between a cruel pirate and a weird lost boy.

'Just toss me overboard, already,' she thought bitterly.

Ikuto looked down at the cloth material, still showing no sign of emotion.

The captain leaned down and grabbed hold of the rope that held the bag shut.

"One of your lost boys," he stated before ripping away the rope.

The cloth bag fell to the ground and Amu sat in the open with Ran floating uneasily beside her.

The pinkette stared at Ikuto with wide eyes while he stared back. She couldn't read the expression on his face until a smirk broke out.

"Now, maybe my eyes are going, but that doesn't look like a boy, Kazuomi," he stated.

Captain Kazuomi stood in a stunned, embarrassed silence, though his face remained hard. He gripped the rope in his hand so tightly it would snap in half. He whirled around to his crew, yelling at the pirates responsible for bringing a girl to him.

As the crew cowered in fear and Kazuomi glowered at them, Ikuto leaned against the railing of the ship behind him, watching it all in amusement. Meanwhile Amu sat in a terrified silence as her grip on her ankle tightened. She was tempted to jump off the ship right now while everyone was distracted.

Worrying her lip, the pink-haired teen glanced at her surroundings, trying to figure out all the possible ways of escaping. From what she could see, they were in a harbour of some sort with a small, rundown town lining the water's edge a few yards away. It was apparent that her only way of escaping would be to jump into the water. Hadn't Ran mentioned a crocodile of some sort? Perfect. Knowing her luck, Amu would thrust herself into crocodile-infested water and get eaten before she even had a chance to escape.

She continued to look about the ship, her gaze stopping on Ikuto. He was looking back at her with another unreadable expression. She tried to keep her gaze as steady as possible without feeling uncomfortable. His emotionless persona was starting to get on her nerves. Unconsciously, Amu released her ankle and brought her hands up to her lap. The last thing she wanted to do was appear vulnerable in front of a strange boy who could easily win against her in a fight.

Ikuto's sapphire orbs flickered down, something catching his interest.

Amu fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze. She wasn't an idiot. It was painfully obvious to her that he was looking at her chest. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she attempted to shake it away. She tried to convince herself she was just paranoid.

"I'm taking you with me," he stated abruptly with a sneaky expression.

With one swift movement, Ikuto stepped away from the railing and slid his arm behind her knees, one arm on her back. He hoisted her up and jumped onto the railing as she screamed and wriggled in his grasp, though he hardly seemed to notice.

With captain Kazuomi's attention finally being diverted from his crew, he swiftly turned around and unsheathed his sword. It was at this moment that he saw it. Around Amu's neck, resting on her chest was the one thing he had been searching for.

"The Humpty Lock…" he growled before jumping forward to fight Ikuto, who had clearly seen the lock as well.

Ikuto merely stuck his tongue out before jumping off the railing with Amu still screaming.

As they fell closer to the water, the pinkette was torn between kicking herself off of Ikuto and clinging to him. She settled for clinging to him while screaming.

"L-let go of me, you pervert!" She screeched.

His only response was a low chuckle in his throat before they swooped just above the water and zoomed high into the air.


	5. Lock and Key

**Author's Note: I know. It's been nearly a month. I was meaning to update earlier, but I was never satisfied with the chapter, therefore I would laze around for a few days, then exams came up, then my Dr. Who obsession sprung to life and my obsession with David Tennant became more prominent. It's quite horrible, really. ANYWAY. This one is extra long and I intend to create every chapter around this length! ENJOY!**

**Chapter 5: Lock and Key**

Amu was going to die. She was almost 100% convinced of this. What else would happen while being encircled by a group of wild men? What she could confirm was that nothing good could result from it, that was for sure.

Not to mention her ankle was throbbing. Jolts of electric shocks were coursing through her body just by remaining still. When she moved it was as if her whole body was going to shatter. She was in desperate need of a long rest. In fact, she had just woken up - from a very short, uncomfortable sleep - just a few moments earlier. However, she shot right up upon noticing all the eyes on her.

She wished she had remained lying down. Her ankle was growing angry with her and she didn't blame it.

Amu shifted so her weight was being supported by her uninjured ankle. Her teeth sunk into her tongue. Shots of pain stabbed through her veins. It was almost to the point where her leg had gone numb. She would have cried out for medical attention in a heartbeat if she didn't feel so intimidated. There were four guys against her if she were to attempt to put up a fight. The last thing she wanted to reveal was the fact that she was injured.

"What was your name?"

Amu's gaze snapped over to the blue-haired boy whose name she kept forgetting. She crossed her arms defensively.

"Hinamori Amu."

Her bitten reply seemed to provide a source of entertainment as amusement slipped into the expressions of all four boys.

"You need to learn to fly." The blue-haired one was the one who spoke again. As the other boys nodded in agreement, it didn't take long for Amu to figure out who the leader here was.

"Well that should be easy enough. I just sprout wings, right?" she retorted coolly. Her bright, golden eyes turned sharp as she glared at the lanky boy who remained unfazed. If anything, he continued to look amused.

"Of course you can't! Only fairies can grow wings."

All eyes turned to the one who spoke. It was the auburn-haired boy. His wide, expressive eyes stared at Amu like she had just crapped on his face.

The three other boys who were smart enough to keep their mouths shut turned away in shame.

Amu plastered an unimpressed look on her face to hide the smile that threatened to grow. Ran sighed from beside her. The pink chara muttered something about the Lost Boys not only losing themselves but parts of their brains, too. Amu had to agree, just a smidgeon. Though it always seemed to be the not-so-bright ones that proved to be the ones most full of life.

"That was sarcasm, Kukai," Nagihiko, the purple-haired one, said with a forced smile and a pat to Kukai's back.

The boys resumed their intimidating poses that consisted of them remaining unmoving with their eyes slicing into Amu as she stood with nowhere to run.

Swallowing thickly, the pinkette chewed down on her lower lip and glanced to Ran for help. Ran, on the other hand, was looking rather calm. She floated happily with her attention caught on a squirrel jumping through the trees. Despite the occasional bird call, the forest was still and hushed with a light breeze providing a soft song as it whistled through leaves and branches, tousling hair as it went.

"So, Ikuto…shall we get to it, then?"

Amu's eyes snapped over to the green-haired boy who spoke. Kairi…was it?

Kairi glanced to Ikuto for a confirmation signal.

Ikuto nodded slightly before stepping forward. His footsteps crunched through spikes of grass. His gaze met hers and after a moment, he spotted her eyes flicker to the side to search for an escape route. He quickened his pace, dashing over to Amu before she could make a run for it. He scooped her up and jumped off the grassy earth, shooting into the air.

Although this wasn't her first time being flown into the air with no previous warning, Amu still wasn't used to it. She shrieked, swore, and screamed until her throat was sore. Cold wind whipped through her hair and thrashed her clothes. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Ikuto's neck, so much so that she was sure she could decapitate him if she squeezed any more. It was a tempting thought, though she was much too busy screaming to put the plan into action.

"Why don't you ever warn me before you do that?" She screamed over the roaring wind.

A soft laugh sounded through the murky ripples of wind. "Do you really think you would willingly allow me to fly you into the air?"

Amu tried to think of a witty reply but gave up quickly as her stomach dropped further and further as their altitude increased dramatically. With jaws snapped together, the wind seeped between her teeth, drying her throat until it felt like paper. She quickly resumed keeping her breathing stabilized, adding in the reminder to swallow as often as possible to be rid of the sandpaper in her throat.

Finally, when Amu was convinced she was going to pass out, Ikuto halted.

Despite the nightmare being over, Amu was finding it impossible to release him from her chokehold. Her muscles had tensed up to the point where she felt like an ice sculpture. Her face hid in the crook of his neck as her arms trembled from the pressure she was forcing into them.

Ikuto finally spoke, completely unaffected by their escapade to the skies.

Amu slowly loosened her grip as the low tremors of his voice pulsed through her limbs.

"I didn't realize you found me so irresistible."

Scoffing, Amu pried her fingers out of his shoulder blades. She moved to completely let go of him when he quickly stopped her, tightening his grip underneath her legs.

The pinketted moved away so she could look at him, ready to start scolding him, but the look in his eyes made her stop. The serious edge to his gaze carved a hole into her. She swallowed again.

"You might not want to do that," he warned with an amused smirk.

Amu heaved a sigh, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. So she was kidnapped by some creepy pervert who insisted on flying her through a strange forest to be alone with her. Just what she wanted. And where was Ran? Weren't charas supposed to protect their humans?

"And why wouldn't I want to get away from you?" Amu challenged stubbornly.

Ikuto pointedly moved his gaze downwards. Amu followed his eyes and gasped sharply, arms instantly tightening around his neck. Sure, they may have stopped flying, but they technically had not landed yet. Squeezing her eyes shut, the pressure shot stars across her vision as she counted her heartbeats. She did her best to convince herself that she was not fifty feet in the air above a thick woodland.

"Go, Amu-chan, you can do it!"

Amu's eyes widened as she whipped her gaze down to seek out the owner of that high-pitched voice.

Among the thick trees of deep greens mixed with bare branches, Ran hovered just a few feet above the forest with the lost boys all crowded in the tree tops to watch.

Kukai and Nagihiko were equipping binoculars while Kairi began setting up a fresh piece of paper in his notebook. He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, ready to take notes as he leaned back against a tree trunk.

All eyes were on them, Amu noticed, self-consciously loosening her grip on Ikuto's neck once again.

"Wh-what exactly am I being required to do?" She asked with her voice wavering.

Although she usually tried to keep her cool n' spice façade in tact at all times, being dangled in mid-air while hiding behind false characteristics wasn't exactly the simplest task. Her wide orbs clearly betrayed the sinking feeling of nervousness that swam in the pit of her stomach. She searched Ikuto's face desperately as she waited for him to figure out the best way to phrase the sentence lingering on his lips.

"You have to…fly," he finally said.

It took a moment for her to process this. She peered down, then to the lost boys, then to the trees, and then back to Ikuto, who was watching her carefully with an unreadable expression.

"Let me get this straight…" Amu began in the calmest tone she could muster. "You're going to let me drop?"

"Yes."

Amu nodded slowly, pursing her lips together as she shrugged carelessly. "Simplest thing in the world."

"You're ready, then?"

Ikuto's hands slid closer to him, detaching themselves from Amu's legs and back. She slipped a mere inch before screaming, clinging to him like a koala on a tree before she scooted back up to cling to his shoulders.

"You're out of your mind! I'm not letting you drop me, nor am I willingly going to jump! You're all insane," She whipped her fierce glare over to Ran, blasting lasers from her golden eyes. "You too, Ran! You're also crazy! What makes any of you think I'll be able to fly just like that? Especially if you're just going to drop me from the air! I refuse!"

She swallowed to wet her coarse throat that scratched in protest at her screams.

She jumped at the motion of Ikuto's hand pulling away from her back. Her fingers sunk deeper into his skin. Ikuto simply rubbed his ear with a cringe, not yet adjusted to having someone screaming bloody murder in his ear. Amu slowly released her death grip when she realized what he was doing. He returned his hand to support her back after tending to his ear. She glanced away, flushing in humiliation.

It was mentally decided that she wouldn't scream anymore. She couldn't. If Ikuto got frustrated with her, all he had to do was swipe his arms out from under her and she'd be history. Amu even pinched her mouth closed to make sure she wouldn't yell from this point on.

Ikuto seemed to notice this transition in her and tried speaking again.

"In order to keep you alive, you have to learn to fly. That way when that oaf Kazuomi comes after you - and he will - you'll be able to escape. Understand?"

Amu nodded silently. Her eyes were wide as she absorbed the information, heart-rate rapidly increasing.

"Just think happy thoughts. You'll be fine," Ikuto finished casually before leaning closer and adding with a wink, "think about me."

The pinkette allowed her jaw to unhinge as she stared dead-panned at him. "Are you kidding me?" She glanced back down and a ripple of shivers shot through her skin. "How can I think happy things at this height?" She didn't even bother responding to his flirtatious comment.

He seemed confused, his eyebrows sinking deeply as his eyes searched hers. "You don't like heights?"

Amu tried not to smack him. Mainly just because they didn't know each other that well. Otherwise she might have snatched a hammer and beat him over the head with it. Instead of tearing his head off with insults, she replied through gritted teeth, "Duh."

Finally, after heaving a sigh, he flew them down to the ground that crawled with thick grass and pebbles, where Amu willingly threw herself out of his grasp and onto the forest floor, clinging to it as if it would walk away.

The grass tickled her hands and poked through the spaces between her fingers. She let the blades cool her overheated body. Her heartbeat pounded with her headache, her breaths coming out ragged and rapidly while her heavy eyes fluttered closed. The taste of metal inked her tongue and her dry throat felt like it would tear open. A stab from her ankle shot her stomach into a frenzy, flipping and squeezing as Amu's head clouded even more.

She could vaguely hear the lost boy's voices growing louder when she blacked out.

* * *

Midori was making dinner, wasn't she? And Tsumugu had been panicking about where his family members had gone. He never did like being alone for too long. It got so bad that he would begin counting the seconds on the clock and then the floor tiles. Sometimes he'd start counting all the different ceiling patterns just to distract himself. Eventually, he'd go insane and search for any one of his girls to remind himself they were still there.

He was a weird man.

Then there was Ami. She was obviously up to no good and must have spiked the water jug. That was why Amu was having strange dreams that felt like a rush only capable of being induced by drugs.

She would open her eyes to find herself in her own warm bed, surrounded by yellow walls plastered with photographs and posters of outdated bands. She would shake off the dream and walk around in sort of a daze before her mama's incredible breakfast would snap her out of her revere.

Amu had almost had herself convinced of this until a bird chirped somewhere nearby.

Wiping the tangled mess of pink hair out of her freshly opened eyes, she squinted at her bright surroundings and propped herself up on her elbows.

Thick shrubbery engulfed the tree fort she lay in. The branches swayed happily in the warm, afternoon wind while chirping birds danced playfully through the clouds.

Amu sat motionless while taking in her surroundings. Despite the most comfortable mound of blankets she was sleeping in, an uncomfortable sensation made her stomach drop in disbelief as her heart skipped a beat. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. It was real. She actually was in a place called Never Land, with a flying fairy thing called a chara and a bunch of boys who claimed to be lost. No…they weren't lost. They had just lost their minds, that's why they were given the title of 'Lost Boys'.

She could already feel a headache coming on, along with a familiar, dull throbbing in her ankle.

Her eyes reluctantly peeled open. Tossing her blankets aside, she went to roll up the leg of her jeans, only to see that it had already been rolled up, as now her ankle lay covered comfortably in bandages. Amu slowly leaned forward, pressing her fingers lightly to the wrappings.

"Good morning, girly!"

Her bones jumped and she whipped around, arms flailing into the air and hitting the intruder in the face. She paid little attention to the hammering of her ankle after it had rubbed against the floor boards.

Her startled gaze found the auburn-haired boy with the cheeky grin who was dangling upside down from a nearby branch. Not so surprisingly, his cheeky grin wasn't in tact after being hit. He groaned in pain and placed the tray of food he was holding onto the floor beside Amu.

"I knew I shouldn't have been the delivery boy," he groaned painfully. "Nagihiko, you're doing it next time!"

Nagihiko's deep, amber eyes flickered up to peer into the window of Amu's tiny treehouse. He looked at Amu, then at Kukai, whose glaring orbs met his own. "Yeah, right. You're on your own with this one." He took off, jumping and spinning through the trees as Kukai yelled after him.

Once realizing the purple-haired boy wasn't coming back, Kukai awkwardly let himself off the tree branch and onto the floor before he turned to face Amu, who was watching it all with wide eyes and a defensive posture.

"Okay, ninja girl," he laughed unsurely, holding up his hands. It was a poor attempt to show he meant no harm, as he was moving closer at the same time, making Amu feel like throwing the tray of food at him.

"Relax, it's okay," he soothed. He finally stopped moving, keeping his hands up. "You're in a cubby, in a tree, with breakfast that needs to be eaten." He moved a finger to point at the food. His wide, jade eyes were laced with discretion as he risked moving closer. He searched Amu's eyes for any sign of discomfort.

Amu had gone back into a shy silence as the auburn-haired boy spoke to her, trying to keep his voice gentle so as not to startle her. She couldn't believe she had actually hit him. Mind you, it was an accident, of course, but it was embarrassing, nonetheless. Usually she was a lot more cool when it came to people scaring her. She used to be able to mask her shock well. Ever since coming to this foreign land, everything seemed to have changed.

Once seeing she had finally relaxed and wasn't making a move to hit him again, Kukai spoke up once more, "I'm Kukai, by the way. And you're…Amu?"

Getting a closer look at him, Amu quickly realized just how friendly he looked. It was probably a completely bizarre occurrence for him to actually startle someone by appearing beside them. His eyes were wide- curious. His brownish-red hair was a mess of tangles, curling in front of his pierced ears. There was really nothing scary about him. His whole appearance screamed friendly.

Realizing he was waiting for her to speak, Amu cleared her throat and swung her gaze around the cubby, pausing on the food, then shifting to her hands. "…You actually have food here?"

Kukai arched an eyebrow before grinning, "Of course we do! We may be Lost Boys but that doesn't mean we can't cook and find fruit." He then jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at Nagihiko, who had returned upon hearing no more screaming, figuring the silence meant someone had died. "He's our chef," Nagihiko waved with a soft smile, "I'm the medic, Ikuto's the navigator, and Kairi's the technical one."

Nodding along slowly with what Kukai was telling her, Amu slowly picked at the plate of fruit in her lap. It was oddly quiet, the pinkette noted. Despite Kukai's upbeat voice and the occasional wave of wind followed by an odd bird call, there was hardly any noise.

Amu frowned. She wasn't able to put her finger on what was missing.

It took a moment, but an apple and half a banana later, her eyes widened in realization.

"Where's Ran?"

Kukai swallowed the bit of apple in his mouth before replying. He threw the apple core over his shoulder and out the window, Nagihiko having to dodge it as it sailed past his ear. "Your chara? She's around here somewhere…I think she went with Ikuto - probably yanking his ear off about the stunt he pulled earlier." Kukai reached for some grapes while mumbling something about not blaming Ran.

Amu's honey eyes slid down to her lap as she recalled the events of…earlier that day? Perhaps it was already a day ago. She had no idea how long she had slept for. Nor did she care, really. That was the most relaxing sleep she had ever had. Especially considering it took place in a tiny, cramped little treehouse thing that people referred to as a 'cubby'. She was tempted to take one home with her. That is, if she was ever able to return home.

"Why…why do I have to run away from Kazuomi?" Amu asked finally, glancing up at Kukai, then to Nagihiko, who had finally decided to crawl inside through the window.

The boys exchanged hesitant looks.

Nagihiko sighed, closing his eyes. Clearly he had been the one chosen to explain the story to Amu. He reopened his eyes and smiled at Amu.

"You know that lock you have?"

Amu unconsciously reached up to her necklace, holding it tightly.

"That was sent to the human world to be kept safe once the key had been stolen. You see, when the lock and key are together, it grants one wish to the one who connects them," Nagihiko looked over at Kukai for clarification that he got that right. Kukai nodded, unable to speak over the mouthful of grapes.

"Kazuomi has the key…and you-" He didn't have to finish his sentence.

Amu's eyes widened as her jaw unhinged. She swallowed thickly. Her stomach churned and her limbs tingled.

"So basically…"she began slowly, "I have to run for my life or get killed by some deranged pirate who's in desperate need of a bath?"

Kukai barked out a laugh which was followed by a coughing fit, obviously having just inhaled a piece of grape.

Rolling his eyes, Nagihiko half-heartedly patted his friend on the back. "Basically, yeah. Knowing Kazuomi and his evil intentions, he'll use the wish to make him ruler of Never Land. He'll get the throne and turn everything upside down, destroying this whole place. But…if we can get the key back and get you to connect the two…you can use the wish to return home, in the meantime destroying the power of the lock and key. This way the war here can finally end, as the wish will already have been used up."

Her head was spinning so much that swirls of color and black and white mashed together to create a collage of rubbish. She licked her chapped lips before inhaling and exhaling deeply. She rubbed her aching temples before nodding slowly.

"So basically…I have to learn to fly to escape Kazuomi…and that's it?"

Nagihiko and Kukai glanced at each other before nodding.

"We may have to teach you a few fighting skills…but…yeah, that's about it," Kukai replied. "Stick with us and you'll be fine." His bright eyes then widened excitedly. "We can give you a tour of Never Land, too! Go to the Indian Camp and," he muttered the last part, "start another war with Kiseki."

"Maybe even Mermaid Lagoon," Nagihiko offered, his tone of voice much softer and gentler than Kukai's. In fact, he almost reminded Amu of a girl. What with his soft facial features, gentle manner of speaking and long, deep purple hair. Not that it was a bad thing. It made Amu feel comfortable around him.

This touring idea sparked life into Amu's dull gaze as her eyes brightened immensely.

"Can we?" She asked, then quickly realized she was acting out of character. She wiped away the curious expression and replaced it with a monotonous look. "I mean…if there's nothing else to do."

Kukai chuckled while shaking his head. He leaned over and ruffled her hair. "You're a funny one. But we can't go anywhere just yet. I only just wrapped that ankle of yours and it was in desperate need of attention. We'll have to wait a while to go exploring but until then, we can start you off with some light defence training-"

"Knock, knock," came a deep voice from somewhere behind the trio.

A higher, much chipper voice followed shortly after.

"I'm back, Amu-chan!" Ran squealed happily as she flew swiftly over to the pinkette. "How are you feeling? I gave Ikuto a good talking to, don't worry! Kairi was even there to make sure I didn't go overboard. ...Then again…he might have been there just to study the ways of charas…" she drifted off in a heap of mumbles strung together.

Amu hardly paid any attention to her. Her gaze dragged across the floor, stopping on the black shoes of the tall, slim boy who gave her a woozy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt like just being around him would result in some kind of danger. She didn't know what it was, he just gave off that dangerous aura she preferred to stay far away from. It must have been his emotionless, unwavering gaze.

Ikuto looked off to the side. He removed his hand from his pocket, holding onto the stem of a strawberry and holding it out in front of him.

All eyes turned to look at the fruit.

Amu glanced from the strawberry to Ikuto, eyebrows slanted downwards in confusion. Big whoop, it was a strawberry. Did he think she had never seen one before? She searched his face for any offending expression that would give an answer as to what was so amazing about this strawberry. It took a moment, but she finally realized that it was a peace-offering. An apology.

She slowly reached out and accepted the strawberry. How he knew of her love for strawberries, she would never know. Amu's slanted gaze suddenly flickered over to Ran. Never mind. She had a pretty good idea who told him about her favourite food.

Now the eyes snapped over to Ikuto, who was watching Amu. He casually slipped his hands into his pockets as Kairi joined them in the cubby. In order to make room for the latest addition, Nagihiko had to smash up against Kukai, who was pressed against the wooden beams of the short wall. Amu, however, was given plenty of space, as she was technically a medical patient as of right now. Her time to be squished would come soon enough.

"So, Kairi, what does the schedule look like?" Kukai asked, his voice slightly muffled from the wall being in his face.

The green-haired boy gazed through his thick glasses at his notebook as he swiftly flipped through the pages. He tapped his pen against the wooden boards on the floor as his eyes scanned the paper.

"We rest for today, combat training begins tomorrow."

Amu, who had just taken a bite of the strawberry, had trouble swallowing it as her body tingled with dread. The hair on the back of her neck stood up straight as Ran gave her a reassuring pat on the head. The lock necklace seemed to grow heavier against her chest. Amu was tempted to hate it. Just what had it gotten her in to?


	6. Birds With Maps and Nameless Princes

**Author's Note: Hey maannn. So I've decided that maybe not for all chapters but for some, I'm going to include the songs I listened to in order to get the right feel for the events that occur. So yeah, I'll let you know at the top of each section which song(s) really inspired the emotions in each part!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! Nor do I own Peter Pan and Neverland :'(**

**Chapter 6: Birds With Maps and Nameless Princes**

* * *

**-Life In Technicolor Instrumental by Coldplay-**

Kukai bellowed out Tarzan calls as he leapt in between trees and flipped over logs. Nagihiko was quick on his tail, jumping and twirling and leaping and even galloping on occasion. His long hair whipped behind him as he pulled off his shirt, throwing it at the auburn-haired boy in front of him.

Even Kairi was jumping around and participating in the race. He was zooming through the woods in front of Kukai, determination set in his eyes as he breathed strictly with his hand tightly gripping his shirt.

None of them noticed Ikuto beating all of them, jumping from tree to tree above them. He swung from tree branches and dove through leaves, sweat lining his forehead from the sizzling sunlight that was cremating the earth.

Amu ran as much as she could without hurting her ankle too much. Ran was able to use some special Chara power to take care of the pain temporary, just so the pinkette could participate in the race. She was almost passing by Nagihiko, blushing in the meantime at the sight of all the boys discarding their shirts.

The fresh air rippled through her clothing and tossed her hair. It blew against her cheeks, cooling them off and providing a protective shield from the burning sun. She breathed hoarsely, a grin breaking on her face as she easily bounded past Nagihiko. Running was no problem for her. It was the heat and the obstacles that posed as a problem.

She hurdled over a tree trunk and dashed by Kukai, leaving him in the dust as she gained on Kairi. She couldn't remember a time she felt so free - so like a child. The child she had forgotten that she still was.

She laughed as Kukai shouted something unintelligible at her, clearly not too happy about being passed by a girl.

Before she knew it, Amu was neck and neck with Kairi, who never refused a challenge. Their breathing was nearly in sync as they lunged for the river just yards in front of them. Kukai and Nagihiko's cheering echoed through the forest and bounced off the trees surrounding them.

Ikuto, who had already reached the river, sat on a tree branch with one leg dangling off. He watched in keen amusement as the two runners mad-dashed to the 'finish line'.

Their stubbornness making it impossible to quit, Amu and Kairi lunged off the riverbed in unison and plunged into the ice cold water.

The rush of liquid tingled and prickled Amu's burning skin, splashing delightfully through her hair and seeping into her clothing.

She emerged from the water with a grin, still breathing heavily as she watched Kukai leap in, followed by Nagihiko.

Ran cheered from the sidelines, hovering by Ikuto, who was never really considered a contestant, more like the ref when it came to these races.

"Ooohhhhhhh that's nice," Kukai sighed. He released a deep breath. He pushed his fingers through his hair to slick it back before wiggling his eyebrows at Kairi, who had to nod in agreement, the ghost of a smile quirking up his lip.

"You need a room, Kukai?" Nagihiko joked before splashing the auburn-haired boy. He dove under water, swirling around and whipping back up to the surface with his deep, violet hair a knotted mess. For once, he didn't seem to mind. He would mind in two seconds, though, but for the moment he wanted to enjoy the chilly bliss the water offered.

Amu plunged under again, swimming so low her stomach nearly brushed the rocks at the bottom of the river. Small, colourful fish swam nearby in schools, not seeming to mind the presence of a human. Amu even waved to a couple, who appreciated being acknowledged.

Pushing off the rocks with her feet, the pinkette broke through the crystal clear water, rubbing the droplets from her face as she inhaled the cool, river breeze. "This is so nice! Why don't we just camp out here for the rest of our lives?"

"I would not mind that one bit, Hinamori," Kukai replied distractedly, too comfortable floating on his back to fully participate in a conversation.

"But then we would never truly appreciate the river for what it offers," Nagihiko pointed out while picking a leaf from his shorts, "as we would be too used to the luxurious water."

Kairi nodded in agreement and added, "It's a nice treat." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before gingerly descending into the water to go exploring.

Amu sighed happily while lifting her legs to float on her back. People these days needed to start enjoying the simple pleasures nature offered. It seemed everyone was too busy nowadays. Either that or they refused to revisit their childhood and act like a kid again- adventuring and rough-housing.

Her gaze finally noticed Ikuto. He was lounging in a tree with his arms behind his head, legs crossed, eyes closed, with Ran floating beside him. The Shugo Chara was going on about something Ikuto clearly found uninteresting, though he threw in a nod every now and then.

"Yo, Ikuto," Amu called tauntingly, "are you too cool to join us?"

An azure eye cracked open and slid down to her.

He smirked before closing it again. He didn't respond.

Amu stuck her tongue out at him while Nagihiko chuckled from beside her. He leaned forward to brush his fingers through his hair while Kukai swam over to them.

The boy with auburn hair grinned toothily, an eyebrow slowly raising in a challenging way. "You want to race, Hinamori?"

Did she want to race? In this world, Amu didn't have to worry about keeping her reputation and constantly keeping cool. Amu smirked and accepted Kukai's challenge. For the first time since waking up in Neverland, she felt as if this place may actually be the best thing to happen to her.

She threw away any self-conscious worries and decided that from this point on, she'd enjoy being a kid while she still could.

* * *

**- Light by Hans Zimmer + Passenger by One Republic (Piano Cover)-**

The trees tingled with the light scent of melons and pears as they rippled calmly under the sun. A refreshing ray of light poured into the forest opening, rippling over Amu's skin.

She stood in the forest clearing, gripping the stick in her hand tightly as she swallowed slowly.

Her stomach churned at the realization that she was almost getting used to this foreign land. She found it normal for living, enormous bears to walk beside her on their hind feet. They would never attack, but would sometimes attempt to converse. Amu still hadn't learned to speak bear, which made the furry animals grow depressed as they sulked off into the forest after their conversation failed to be reciprocated by the pinkette. She felt kind of bad for failing to speak with these creatures, but the guilt quickly wore off once it dawned on her that she wasn't supposed to be talking to bears.

A dreadful emotion crept into her stomach at the realization that she may never see home again. The ability to return home felt out of reach and like a hopeless wish, especially considering that she had been training with Ikuto but it felt like she hadn't learnt anything.

What she wanted was to crumble to the ground and become one with the earth. This was Neverland. It was probably possible. All one had to do was jump in circles while chanting about carrots and ice cream and voila, earthbound eternally.

A small arch appeared in Amu's brow as she shuffled her shoes against the grass. Her eyes peered downwards in wonderment. Nonsense, it couldn't be possible.

Gripping the stick in her hands tightly, her honey-coloured eyes flickered up to watch Ikuto, who had been helping her with her footwork. Easier said than done with her ankle acting up. They were practicing with sticks instead of swords, which comforted her slightly.

Ikuto stood a few feet away with one foot in front of the other, turned so his side was directed towards her. His attention was caught on something else, the deep sapphire of his eyes glazing over as he sunk deeper into his thoughts. His eyebrows creased slightly and his jaw clenched.

Amu could have sworn she even saw his ear twitch.

Before she could even unhinge her jaw to speak, her nose was flush with his chest and he was pressing his fingers to her lips to silence her. His body heat trickled through Amu's clothing. She reminded herself to keep breathing. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears as she peered up at Ikuto while he watched the trees, a firm expression set on his face. She had to admit that, despite his odd characteristics, he wasn't a bad guy. Not bad looking, either. Not to mention it was impossible to hate him when he smelled so good.

At school, sure she had been popular, but it was in an infamous way - a way that made all guys practically fear her. These circumstances also made it difficult to make friends of the female sex as well. They either hated her for being a common name spoken around school, or they admired her from afar but always left her to be on her own. So to have an attractive, mischievous boy stand flush with her was just bizarre. Human contact wasn't something she was particularly used to.

Realizing she had been staring, Amu diverted her flustered attention away from Ikuto and back to the trees.

As soon as she did so, a crash broke from somewhere deep in the serene forest. Twigs snapped and leaves rustled and Amu stepped closer to Ikuto. They unconsciously shifted so Amu was protected by Ikuto's outstretched arm, his position rearranged so his shoulder blocked her view. Amu hadn't realized his other hand had been resting at the back of her neck until he moved it.

Ikuto removed his hand from her mouth and put a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to keep quiet. He started off towards the patch of trees where the noise had emerged from. Without turning around he outstretched his arm backwards, the palm of his hand face-up to tell Amu to wait where she was.

The pinkette nearly reached out and grabbed onto his arm to pull him back. She folded her hands in front of her to keep from doing so. She took to nibbling her lip as she watched his graceful self disappear into the trees. He really didn't seem to fear anything. Either that or he wasn't afraid to get hurt. She almost admitted that she was envious of that character trait - almost.

After what seemed like ten minutes of him being gone, Amu swallowed the lump of dread in her throat and pressed on after him. It shouldn't be too hard to find him. Just look for something that looked like an over-grown blueberry. Plus, if she got lost she could always ask a bear, or any other animal, really.

However, the further she ventured, the more worried she became. Her heart was rapping against her chest. Climbing over rocks and fallen trees, she was glad to have a few fresh scrapes speckle her skin to keep her attention away from the eerie silence of the forest. A bead of sweat gathered in her hairline. She pushed her bangs back before tripping over a rock and landing in a bush with needles poking into her back.

Shrieking, Amu waved her arms like a mad man before lunging out of the prickly bush and stumbling backwards, tripping over the same rock and landing on her back.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't quite used to all this forest yet. But soon, she would master the art of walking ten minutes without falling.

Cringing at the pounding in her ankle, the pinkette didn't even attempt to stand up on her own. She would just wait until a crane rolled along and pulled her up. Until then, she'd continue to stare at the orange sky and the emerald leaves that danced above her.

Not long later, she heard footsteps. Then a chuckle. It was a little higher than Ikuto's voice, which made Amu frown as she lifted her head to see who was there. Her crane had arrived to pick her up. A hand appeared in her vision.

The setting sun created a halo-effect on the boy's golden hair. His soft, ruby eyes watched her carefully as he beamed down at her. His whole appearance screamed 'innocent.' He nearly took her breath away. For a moment she didn't know what she was expected to do and just stared at the hand until it registered in her mind what it was there for.

Amu flushed in embarrassment as she diverted her eyes and wrapped her fingers around his, letting him pull her up.

"That was quite a fall," he commented good-heartedly. "I'm actually pretty impressed."

The pinkette staggered to stand straight as she chuckled unsurely before taming her hair.

The charming stranger reached over and plucked a twig from her tresses before she got to it.

Amu's blush spread quickly upon making eye-contact with the blond again. His polite smile made her insides flip, bounce, and turn to mush. To prevent herself from appearing like a bigger fool, she swallowed and tried to make conversation.

"Yeah…I'd like to say that I don't fall very often, but it seems that since coming here I've been tumbling all over the place," She admitted with a brief eye-roll.

"Oh, so clearly it's not your fault. The forest is just out to get you because it doesn't know you yet," the blond put in teasingly.

Trying to hide her shy smile, Amu nodded, her cheeks coloring to a baby pink, "Something like that."

He offered her his arm for her to take hold of, raising his eyebrows questioningly. "Shall I guide you so you don't fall any more?"

If she hadn't been swooning before, Amu certainly was now. Of course she would never admit it, though. So instead of lunging for his arm like she wanted to, her façade kicked into play and she scoffed lightly and crossed her arms, despite the small, friendly upturn of her lip.

"No thanks, prince charming, I need to learn to walk properly on my own."

"You don't walk often?" He joked.

"Not since getting this sprain, nope," Amu replied dully, grimacing down at her shoes.

It seemed like this stranger was about to say something more until he appeared to be distracted briefly as his posture automatically straightened. After a beat he looked back at Amu and smiled, starting to step away.

"I just remembered I have to get going… but are you going to be alright?" He asked, seeming incredibly patient despite the need to hurry on off.

Amu glanced around and wiped off her butt. With a nod, she said, "Yeah, I should be fine."

The blond gave her one last prince-charming smile before nodding and hurrying off.

It wasn't until after he disappeared did Amu realize she didn't ask him what his name was. She nearly beat herself up over this but the blood on her hands reminded her that she was already pretty beat up as it was. She really needed to stop falling.

Only about thirty wobbly steps into her trek to find Ikuto, she spotted him resting on his hind legs, leaning over something.

Amu backed up and hid behind a nearby tree, peering around the trunk to get a better look at the scene in front of her. A large bird with white and deep green feathers lay on the ground. For a brief, terrifying moment Amu thought Ikuto was getting ready to kill it. Upon closer inspection, she realized he was removing something from its wound.

Feeling a little safer, Amu re-emerged into the open and unconsciously made her presence known by cracking a twig under her shoe. This caused Ikuto's gaze to shoot up and over his shoulder, his eyes travelling down her body to rest on her scraped up knees.

"What, did you get into a war?" He asked dryly. He smirked at her furious glare before he turned back to the bird he was aiding who seemed to be laughing at the interaction between the two.

"N-no!" Amu huffed angrily, "I just…tripped…a little."

"A lot."

"No, a little."

They both knew Amu was losing so neither of them continued their spat.

Instead, the pinkette peered over Ikuto's shoulder while stepping closer.

"What…happened?"

Ikuto wiped the bird's blood from his fingers as if it were merely water. "This guy crashed through the branches up there," he nodded to the tree branches looming above them, "and got skimmed by a rock. He's fine, just needed some directions."

Amu frowned, "Directions?"

"Yup."

They both sat in silence as Ikuto checked over the wound. Finishing up, his hand grazed the top of the bird's head affectionately, smoothing down his feathers and examining him closely and gently in search of any more wounds.

Watching in silence, Amu felt her respect towards Ikuto grow. He was unconsciously displaying a softer side to him that didn't make an appearance very often. Until this point, she viewed him just as the slightly-perverted, constantly up to no good flying boy who loved making her blush. Surprisingly, he had depth to him.

The bird stood up and shook out its wings, seeming as good as new.

"Now, if you're needing to look at your map, pull over some place safe. Don't continue to fly," Ikuto advised, picking up the bird's map and glasses from the ground.

Once the glasses were put in place on the bird's beak, he nodded gratefully to Ikuto before unrolling his map and leaping off the ground, soaring high into the warm sunlight, where he vanished into the sky.

Amu stared open-mouth and wide-eyed at the sight. It was such a large, majestic bird. But…it needed a map?

"Birds here need maps..?" She clarified. Her eyes were still fixated on the sky.

Ikuto stood up so he was beside her. He wiped his hands off on the front of his pants and glanced down at her, sending her a weird look out of the corner of his eye.

"…Yeah," he replied as if it was common knowledge. "What, and the birds from your world don't?"

"W-well, no, of course not!"

They stared at each other long and hard, Amu flabbergasted and Ikuto with an expressionless front, yet his eyes seemed to be studying the pinkette to confirm that she was sane. Though appearing to be of the same human race, they felt like aliens next to each other.

Finally, the blue-haired one spoke. "You may be a little insane. Birds can't fly without maps."

"I'm pretty sure they can!"

"Well…but that's you, and you claim to know a lot of things. Like how to trek through the forest, for example."

"I have a messed up ankle, it's not my fault!"

Holding up his hands to show his surrender, Ikuto nodded with slight impatience. "Okay, fine, yes, it's the ankle. And anyway… yes, Neverland birds need maps 'cause they aren't exactly the brightest things around. …Kind of like Kukai."

Amu rolled her eyes with a soft laugh, "Hey, he's been a great doctor." Her gaze turned to the scratches on her hands, then to the marks on her knees. She was going to have to pay Kukai an extra visit that evening. Surprisingly, she didn't mind these 'doctor's checkups', as Kukai was probably the easiest person to talk to. With him, it didn't even feel like she was getting any medical treatment done.

The two started on their way back to the training circle, Ikuto leading the way so Amu wouldn't be wandering blindly while plummeting to the ground every other minute. Though something told her that he was purposely taking the difficult route.

"Do we really have to walk across a log?" Her voice came out shaky as she stumbled to keep balance on the slippery log beneath her feet. Ikuto was easily leading the way with his hands in his pockets and a graceful bounce in his step.

"There's a creek underneath. You could walk in that, if you want."

"No, I mean, there's got to be an easier way! I didn't walk across this log on my way over here!"

"Ew, you walked through the water?"

"Ikuto," Amu sighed, exasperated. When she looked up from the ground, her eyebrows slanted, "We're not training anymore?" They had reached Hangman's Tree - the Lost Boy's hideout.

Hangman's Tree was a large, eerie tree with a plump, black trunk covered with bare branches. Any smart person would dub it dead and turn around instantly once coming across it. What they didn't know of was the doorway hidden in the trunk. It opened up to reveal steps leading down to a cozy fort which was actually quite comfortable for being underground. The Lost Boys only risked returning to the fort at sundown, just in case a passer-by happened to see them disappear into the tree.

Ikuto pushed open the secret door, holding it open for Amu as he nodded to the cuts on her legs. "You're going to need those cleaned up. We can continue training another day."

The welcoming warmth of the hideout pulled Amu inside and down the stairs. It took only a moment for Kukai to notice Amu's scrapes. He had his medical gear out in an instant and before she knew it, Amu was sitting on her bed with Ran flying around in a panic.

"Oh, Amu-chan!" The chara exclaimed compassionately. She pressed her tiny hands to her cheeks as she stared at the sight of the cuts on Amu's legs with wide eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have let you train on your own." She floated over to where Amu sat and patted her affectionately on the head.

"I declare we go on an adventure." Kukai stated suddenly. His eyes remained fixed on Amu's hand as he cleaned up the dried blood. He sat across from her on her bed situated furthest from the door in a little nook all of her own. They claimed it was for her own protection to have her bed in a separate room. That way if anyone were to break into the hideout, the boys would be the first to be alerted and they could start attacking while Amu was kept safe. At first she figured her bed was isolated because they didn't want her escaping during the night. Upon getting to know these boys better, she now knew they really were concerned for her safety..

"Right, an adventure with gimpy over there?" Ikuto inquired sarcastically from his bed. He lay on his back with his arms covering his eyes, the hint of a smirk appearing briefly on his lips.

Amu's eyes turned dark as she glared at the wall keeping her from hitting the blue-haired teen. He didn't have to say her name for everyone to know of who he was implying. "You're the gimpy one!"

A nervous chuckle forcefully bubbled out of Ran. She lightly rested on Amu's shoulder and started playing with her hair to hopefully aid in the calming-down process.

"What kind of adventure would this be?" Kairi asked calmly. "It may conflict with our schedule."

"What appointments could we possibly have?" Kukai asked, slightly exasperated.

"Well…" The green-haired teen pushed his blankets down before he sat up straight, reaching over to grab his glasses and slide them back on. "Chief Kiseki, I'm sure, has been expecting us for quite some time."

This piqued Amu's interest as she moved to peer out her doorway, her hand accidentally pulling out of Kukai's grasp and hitting his arm.

"You've got to stop hitting me, woman." Kukai whined. He rubbed his arm for emphasize while Amu rolled her eyes and set her hand back down for him to finish cleaning it up.

"So you mean…we can go hunt Indians?" Amu asked excitedly.

Nagihiko exchanged looks with Kairi before shrugging, both boys nodding.

"I don't see why not," Nagihiko confessed. He turned his attention away from his recipe book and inspected Ikuto, who hadn't removed his arms from his eyes.

"Ikuto, wake up," The purple-haired teen snapped.

"I'm up."

"Shall we pay a visit to the Indian camp?"

A moment passed as all occupants of the hideout went silent and listened.

Sliding his arm off his face, Ikuto pushed himself up on his elbows and smirked at the boys.

"I'd say Chief Kiseki must be awfully lonely without us."

**Author's Note: Thoughts, opinions, requests? Let me know! And I feel like one of you guys needs someone to talk to. (Yes, I may just be going insane, but really.) So if you need to vent about something or whatever, I'm here!**


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